Star Vetter

TIC 96795030

An uncatalogued eclipsing-binary candidate from TESS.

Period aliasSurvivorP = 3.41908 d

Eclipsing-binary candidate: 3.4191-day period (twice the BLS period), a 9.02% primary eclipse, a 5.27% secondary eclipse at phase 0.498.

Primary eclipsetotal light 0.915
Surface brightness ratio
0.58
Companion temperature
~4,209 K
Companion / star radius
~0.31
Face hidden at primary eclipse
~10%
Separation
~25 x the star's radius
Eccentricity
consistent with circular
Secondary eclipse phase
0.498 measured, 0.500 in this orbit

Zoomed: both stars drawn about 5x larger than their real size relative to the orbit, so they overlap for longer than the real eclipse lasts. A star's surface never gets dimmer during an eclipse - part of it is simply hidden. What drops is the total light we receive, shown exactly by the readout and bar below from the real light curve; the glow dims with it, exaggerated so small dips show. Colours follow temperature on a stellar colour scale, saturated so the differences show; the star's is its catalogue value (4,791 K). The companion's colour, sizes and orbit shape are estimates from the eclipse depths, duration and timing, assuming central eclipses and spherical stars - good to perhaps tens of percent. Only the relative orbit is shown; both stars really circle their common centre of mass. Animated about 12,309x faster than real on average, slowing down through each eclipse, and starting from where the system is in its orbit right now. Hover to pause.

  • Secondary2026-10-19 23:24 UTC
  • Primary2026-10-21 16:38 UTC
  • Secondary2026-10-23 09:28 UTC

Computed from the fitted ephemeris. Approximate - not corrected for your location or for light-travel time across Earth's orbit.

I

The signal

A repeating, consistent dip in brightness.

observed binned median residuals
0.900.920.940.960.981.000-0.4-0.20.00.20.4phase (P = 3.4191 d)relative flux

Residual scatter 0.687% (observed minus binned median).

!

Alternate eclipses differ in depth, so the true period is twice the search period.

Period
3.41908 d
Primary depth
9.02%
Secondary depth
5.27%
Epoch (T0)
1470.005 BTJD
Duration
1.39 h
II

The catalog check

Cross-matched against known variable-star catalogs to rule out anything already listed.

  • VSXNot found
  • ASAS-SNNot found
  • Gaia eclipsing-binary tableNot found
  • Gaia variable classificationNot found
  • TESS EB catalog (Prsa+2022)Not found
  • ExoFOP TOI listNot found

0/6 catalogs list a known variable at this position.

No known variable star or catalogued match at this position.

Catalogs checked
6
Matches
0
III

The pixel check

Confirms the dimming is on the target star, not a nearby source.

Out of eclipse
In eclipse
Difference (out - in)
+ target TIC 96795030x neighbour bright enough to cause the dipo other TIC starsO dimming centroid1 pixel = 21"

Out/in share one sqrt colour scale; in-eclipse = out-of-eclipse minus difference. TESS sector 33.

51.0
0.05 px1"
-0.0025 phase
TIC 967950211.58 px, dT 2.7
0.84
33

The dimming is centred on the target star. No nearby contaminant detected.

Centroid offset
0.05 px
Difference SNR
51.0
Capable neighbour
TIC 96795021
TESS sector
33
IV

The Gaia view

A second spacecraft's measurements: how far away the star is, how bright and what colour, and whether its position fits a single star.

The latest Gaia context file does not include this candidate yet, so there is no Gaia view to show.

V

The ground-survey check

An independent instrument, different years: does real ZTF photometry show the eclipse at the period TESS measured?

No ZTF observations at this position (declination -31.9 deg) - likely too far south for ZTF's footprint, which covers the sky north of roughly -31 deg. Not a mark against the candidate, just a gap in ground-survey coverage.

VI

Fold it yourself

Adjust the period and watch the eclipse appear.

0.920.940.960.981.00-0.4-0.20.00.20.4phaserelative flux
3.41908

Shown at the true period. The raw light curve needed to re-fold at other periods has not been exported yet - this slider unlocks automatically once it is.

The period the pipeline measured. Drag the slider away from it and the eclipse smears out.

True period
3.41908 d
BLS period
1.70954 d
Odd/even z
42.78
VII

Caveats

Known limitations and things to check.

  • Period alias:Odd/even eclipse-depth z-score is 42.78 (gate > 3.0): alternating eclipses differ significantly in depth, the signature of a true period double what BLS found. Pixel-check confirmation and eclipse timing are unaffected - report the corrected period, 3.419080 d, in any write-up.
VIII

Instrument

Raw values, fits and technical details.

Show raw data

Full statistics

3.41908 d
1.70954 dalias
9.02% +/- 0.06%seen 13/13
ML screening score
0.942logistic_regression
5.27% +/- 0.02%phase 0.498, 324 sigma
42.78> 3: alias
0.8547 dpower 0.09
1.4 h
Distance (TIC, Gaia-based)
155 pc+/- 1
11.93 / 11.24
4791 K / 0.90 Rsun
RA / Dec (J2000)
07h 00m 6.3s -31d 55m 10s
1037.4 / 51.0
8,901 ptsover 786 d

Eclipse close-ups

Primary eclipse9.02%
0.900.920.940.960.981.00-4-2024hours from mid-eclipse
Secondary (phase 0.498)5.27%
0.900.920.940.960.981.00-4-2024hours from mid-eclipse

Same flux scale on both panels. Line: binned median. Shown in place of an orbit animation - this pipeline measures eclipses, it does not fit an orbit.

Period alias analysis

BLS period 1.7095 d
0.920.940.960.981.00-0.50.00.5
2x BLS 3.4191 d
0.900.920.940.960.981.00-0.50.00.5

Odd/even depth z = 42.78 (gate 3.0): alternate eclipses differ, so the true period is 2 x 1.7095 = 3.4191 d.

O - C timing

primary eclipses
-1.5-1.0-0.50.00.51.01.5214216218220222224226228230Eclipse number (cycle)O - C (min)

13 eclipses timed, rms 0.34 min, reduced chi-square 1.41 (11 dof): consistent with a constant period.

Each eclipse timed by fitting the star's own mean eclipse profile; fitted P = 3.418907 +/- 0.000012 d.

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